A tax project on the 3.5% versions on the money sent from the United States to non-citizens abroad has sent shock to countries that depend on international transfers.
Part of the law on “One Big Beautiful Bill” currently in front of the American Senate, the levy would affect 40 to 50 million non-citizens in the United States, including undocumented migrants as well as holders of green and visas, with those of India, Mexico, China and the particularly exposed Philippines. Some experts suggest that the effect would be sufficient to send Mexico’s economy to a recession this year.
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum qualified the “unacceptable” bill and promised to negotiate with the United States. “We don’t want there to be a tax,” she said at a press conference. “We will continue to work, there is therefore no tax on funds that our compatriots send to their families in Mexico.”
More than 80% of the United States’s shipments to other countries are used for consumption, in particular grocery products, health, housing and daily education; And any tax would negatively affect the country’s economy to reception. A report of the inter -American dialogue warned that the tax could lead to a 7% decrease in sending funds, an impact on trade, increase migration and reduce control of foreign currency transfers.
Latin America and the Caribbean received 160.9 billion dollars of funds in 2024, Mexico, representing $ 64.7 billion. In the northern triangle of Central America of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, strongly represented among undocumented migrants entering the United States, shipments represent 20% to 27% of national GDP. The tax would cost the three countries nearly $ 2 billion per year, based on 2024 figures.
The Hondian-Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Garcia, described the tax as “a bucket of cold water” for Hondurian migrants.
The Caribbean governments have stressed that the bill threatens to reduce international dollar reserves. This was a long -term problem in the region and prompted certain credit card issuers to reduce limits to $ 100 for new requests.
The bill has until September 30 to adopt and could face a legal opposition on the provisions which affect vulnerable communities and international treaties. Supporters suggest that the tax gives the United States an estimated industry tranche of $ 905 billion. However, a tax on funds would not be unprecedented. Oklahoma imposed the first state tax on international transfers – 1% out of each $ 500 sent in 2009.